


A Wolf in the Woods

by boredomsMuse



Series: 2020 TS:SS Fluffuary [16]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Fairy Tales, M/M, fluffuary continues into march, messing with fairy tales, no betareading my head hurts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:14:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23139835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredomsMuse/pseuds/boredomsMuse
Summary: Fluffuary Day 16 - Dukceit--Don’t go into the woods.Parents whisper the plea to their children late at night when wondering eyes looking for adventure stray to a clear path through the trees.There’s a wolf in the woods, and he holds a grudge.They warn.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Series: 2020 TS:SS Fluffuary [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624690
Comments: 13
Kudos: 116





	A Wolf in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> Day 16 for [fluffuary](https://tsshipmonth2020.tumblr.com/post/189435231607/fluffuary-2020-let-the-ships-sail) \- dukceit
> 
> I know how late this is, it took a very long time to write and like three very, very different drafts. Please enjoy.

_ Don’t go into the woods.  _ Parents whisper the plea to their children late at night when wondering eyes looking for adventure stray to a clear path through the trees.  _ There’s a wolf in the woods, and he holds a grudge. _ They warn.

_ This town played a terrible game and lost. _ The town librarian tells the curious children, the ones who find frustration in their parents insistence in brushing off questions.  _ But it is not the wolf that holds a grudge, it is the witch in the red riding hood. _

“There isn’t a witch in a red coat!” A boy claims, unaware how lucky he is that he alone has come to the man today. “Only a witch in a green riding hood.”

“There is a witch in a green riding hood.” The man agrees, humming. “The town tried to hurt him dearly, but it is not him that holds the grudge _. _ ” He doesn’t continue and the boy can only huff in frustration as he leaves. He’s never seen a witch in a red coat but he is curious and he is unafraid. He’s seen the wolf and the witch, they don’t scare him. The witch has even said hi to him!

The other kids always whisper when he says things like that. They turn away from him and they’d tell their parents if they didn’t know they’d also get in trouble for talking about the woods. But that’s fine. He doesn’t need them to like him, and this way no one tries to stop him when he sneaks onto the forest path.

The path has always led somewhere different. Today it leads to a clearing with a glass case resting in it’s center. The case looks as though someone has slept in it and the boy thinks that would be nice, because the top is a glass dome that would let you stare up into the stars as you drifted off. 

“Perhaps it would have been nice, _ ” _ the librarian hums when the boy reports back the next day, “in better circumstances.”

_ What do you mean? _ The boy asks, frowning. 

_ “ _ The person who slept in that glass case could not wake of his own free will, that would quite distract from the view of the stars.” __ The man explains. He shelved two more books as the boy took in his words.

“Was it the red witch?” The boy asks. “Is that why he holds a grudge?”

“It was indeed the red witch. _ ” _ The librarian confirms, a proud tilt to his lips that the boy had figured it out. “But that’s not why he holds a grudge, he knows it was an accident.”

“How could it be an accident?”  __ The boy sighs. The librarian hums a moment more before taking a book from the shelf, a book the boy has never seen. A book he doesn’t think his parents would like to see.

“Perhaps this will help. Though I would suggest you keep it hidden.” 

The boy reads the book through the night, tucked away under his blankets. The book is on witchcraft, on the nature of spells and of breaking them. Intent, it says, intent is the most important part of casting a spell. But breaking a spell is not so easy. 

When morning comes the boy has a lot of pieces but no idea how they fit together. He returns to the library with a frown, book hidden in his bag.

“Did that help?” The librarian asks.

“Is there a history book? An old one, about the town?” The boy returns, not answering the question. The librarian is surprised a moment before turning to look over his shelves. Eventually, with an ‘aha’ he pulls a book out. It doesn’t look like a history.

“There is.” He says. “Not an honest one. But maybe this will help.”

“What is it?” The boy asks as he takes the book. If it even had a title it has long since been worn away by time.

“It’s about the wolf.” The librarian answers. 

Not wanting to wait until night to read, certainly not wanting to get caught reading, the boy once more follows the path into the forest. This time it leads to a river, at which he sits and reads all day.

The book is indeed about a wolf, but not a real wolf. He’s something else that’s been cursed with bloodlust that rises like the moon. The story tugs at his memory until the boy refers back to the first book the librarian gave him. There’s a creature in there, a powerful magical creature, that can be bound. 

The town couldn’t’ve bound a creature, at least the boy doesn’t think so. But it could have made the creature bloodthristy.

“Was it the green witch?” He asks nervously the next town, clutching the books like a lifeline. “Did he help the town curse the wolf? And the red witch?”

“Not at all.” The librarian assures, face softening a little when the boys shoulders slump with release. “The wolf’s binding was an accident by a third witch, the town took advantage of that. The third witch was trying to help but ultimately it was the green witch that broke the curse.”

“Did he break the red witch’s curse too?” The boy hopes.

“Not at all.” The librarian shook his head. “There’s only one way to broke curses like those, and the green witch could only do that for the wolf.”

“What way?” The boy presses.

“Well, you’ve read plenty of books. You should know.” The boy frowns at the answer. He didn’t see anything about breaking those curses in the books the librarian had given him. But then, he had read plenty of books that had curses and they were all broken the same way.

“True love’s kiss?” He guesses.

“Precisely.” The librarian nods. “The green witch was the wolf's true love. His brother, the red witch, had his own true love, who woke him.” 

“So it all worked out?” The boy says.

“It did.” The librarian confirms.

“Then why does the red witch hold a grudge?” The boy asks. “If the sleeping spell was an accident and everything worked out…”

“There’s still something you’re missing.” The librarian says then, after a pause, he continues. “Why was the green witch in the forest in the first place?” The boy opens his mouth to answer and then stops.

Why  _ was  _ the green witch in the forest? All the growns up only talk about the wolf, it’s just the librarian that mentions the witches. The librarian’s always said that’s because the wolf has been around longer. So why would the green witch enter the forest, before the wolf’s blood lust had been cured. Wouldn’t he be risking death?

“Why is there a wolf in the woods?” The boy asks his parents that night, still puzzling over the librarian’s words. His parents share a gaze, the one they often share. They think their child is too curious, too dangerous. They think he hasn’t noticed these gazes. Eventually his mother sighs and speaks.

“The wolf used to protect the town from witches and demons.” She says. “But only if the town stayed out of it’s woods. Now there aren’t any more witches or demons for the wolf to eat, and so it eats children instead.” She claims.

“When was the last time it ate a child?” The boy asks, frowning slightly. The wolf’s bloodlust had been cured, why would it still be hurting people? His parents share another look.

“That’s enough questions.” His father huffs. “Finish your dinner and then straight to bed with you.” So he hasn’t eaten any children, the boy presumes. He doesn’t say that, he knows better. 

The next day he tries to find the librarian but the man isn’t in his library. Walking around town, the boy eventually finds him sitting on the edge of the forest, reading a book.

“Hello.” He greets, not looking up as the boy approaches. No one else is around.

“The town wanted the wolf to kill the green witch, didn’t they?” He says. “They made him go into the forest. The red witch holds a grudge because the town tried to kill his brother.”

“Almost.” The librarian smiles. He pats the spot next to him and the boy sat down, looking at the book as the librarian moves it to share. There’s a crude drawing of two boys, one in a red riding hood and the other a green hood with a white streak through his hair. “The town wanted to kill the red witch.” The librarian explains. “But the green witch took his place.” The next page has the same boys but this time their hoods have been switched.

“He made the red witch sleep so he won’t get in the way.” The boy guesses.

“The spell was too powerful.” The librarian says, turning the next page to show the brother without a streak laying in his bed. “The green witch had figured it was his last spell, his magic reacted and cast a serious curse. It would only be broken with the green witch’s death, or true loves kiss.”

“But the green witch didn’t die.” The boy says. 

“No, the wolf did everything he could to lead the green witch to the safe house.” The librarian says. The next page had the green witch sitting in front of a nice cabin surrounded by trees. In those trees the wolf was hiding. “They became friends rather quick.”

“And that’s when the green witch broke the spell?”

“No, it would be quite some time before that.” The librarian smiles. He turns the page to show the red witch laying in the glass coffin. “The town thought he was under a spell but by his evil brother, and they thought he was bad luck, so they dragged him to the forest. Of course the wolf found him.”

“When did his true love show up?” 

“I’m getting there.” The librarian assures. “The red witch and the wolf had been friends for years, unbeknownst to the green witch, so the wolf already knew the red witch’s true love. But he was away with another witch, saving a young boy who was trapped in a tower. They would have to wait for the true love to get back.” The next page shows the green witch sitting beside the red witch’s case, clutching the red cloak tight. The wolf sits with him.

“Over the weeks the green witch and wolf grew closer and the green witch started to truly learn his powers, and he started to learn of the wolf’s curse.” He turns the page, showing the green witch sitting in the cabin surrounded by books. “But the wolf said nothing could be done, and he didn’t want to talk about it.” The next page shows the wolf and green witch, appearing as though they’d been arguing.

“Finally the true love returned, with the tower boy and the first witch in tow.” The page shows the three knew arrivals, drawn in purple, dark blue, and light blue respectively. “He took one look at the green witch and knew something was wrong. It took some time to convince him he was the red witch’s true love, but when he finally kissed the red witch, the curse was broken.” The next page shows the red witch sitting up in the case with the true love close by.

“What about the wolf?” The boy presses.

“You’re rather impatient all of a sudden.” The librarian sighs. “The green witch and the first witch spent every moment trying to find a way to break the wolf’s curse.” The two of them were surrounded by books in the main room, with the tower boy sitting nearby also reading. “The only cure they could find was true love's kiss, and the tower boy immediately told the green witch to kiss the wolf then, because they were obviously in love.” 

“The green witch didn’t need anymore convincing, he immediately marched up to the wolf and before the wolf could say hello, they were kissing.” The page shows the two together and the next page shows the wolf, only without his eyes. The boy cheers.

“But why did they stay?” He asks. “If the wolf wasn’t bound to the forest anymore, wouldn’t he want to explore?”

“The wolf never minded being bound to the forest, they’re his home. So he and the green witch settled here, and the first witch settled in his cabin. The red witch and his true love travel often, but always come to visit.” The librarian explains.

“And the tower boy?” 

“He comes and goes, but he never goes far.” The librarian assures. “He tries to ensure people don’t fear his family.”

“A little bit of fear seems to be okay.” The boy says. “That way no one bothers them.”

“I suppose.” The librarian agrees. 

“I wish I could find a cabin in the woods like they did. Minus all the curses, I guess. It sounds much better than this town.” The boy sighs. 

“For people like us, a cabin in the woods is a much nicer life indeed.” The librarian hums. “Perhaps,” he starts, “you’d like to meet them?”

“Really?” The boy jumps up instantly and the librarian can’t help a chuckle. They walk into the forest, falling the path that today leads to a homely cabin.

“You’re home! Finally!” A man in purple says, pushing the door open. “I have been worried sick!” 

“The true love.” The boy whispers, staring eyes wide. 

“I found someone who wanted to meet you all.” The librarian smiles.

“Oh a young witch!” A new voice smiles, this man dressed in blue. “Come in, come in. My name is Patton.” He greets.

“Patton!” The True Love scolds.

“Oh stop being such a worry wart. If he’s to stay with us, he should know our names.” The witch in red steps into view from the side of the house. “I’m Roman.”

“Stay?” The boy repeats, confused. 

“Only if you’d like.” The librarian says. “I assure you, you’ll find much more love here than in town. And you can leave whenever you’d like. Take as long as you need to decide.”

“I’d like to stay!” The boy decides instantly, grinning.

“In that case, you may call me Logan.” The librarian smiles.

“Fine, fine.” The true love gives in. “My name is Virgil, welcome to the family kid.” He says, the hint of a smile on his face.

“New family?!” Someone calls and then, before the boy can realize what’s happening, he’s scooped into a hug by someone in a green riding hood. “It’s the little witch! Hello kiddo! I’m Remus, I’m going to be your new uncle, it’ll be great!” The man announces, making the boy laugh.

“Put him down Remus.” A final voice calls, the voice of the wolf. Remus doesn’t put him down, but he doesn’t stop swaying so that the boy can see the final person. “Hello little one, you can call me Dante.” He greets.

“Hi!” The boy says, looking to everyone and smiling wide. “I’m Thomas!”

_ Don’t go into the woods.  _ Parents will whisper the plea to their children late at night when wondering eyes looking for adventure stray to a clear path through the trees.  _ There’s a wolf in the woods, and he holds a grudge. He stole the Thomas boy just last week.  _ That’s what they’ll say, unaware of a growing witch whose finally found the place he belongs.

**Author's Note:**

> [ And here is the usual tumbles link](https://boredomsmuse.tumblr.com/)


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